Sheet crimping device



Oct. 8, 1963 N. LEoPoLDl 3,106,139

SHEET CRIMPING DEVICE Filed Sept. 25, 1961 3,1%,I3-3 Patented Get. 8, 1963 3,106,139 SHEET CRIMPING DEVICE Norbert Leopoldi, 418i) Marine Drive, Chicago, Ill. Filed Sept. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 140,560 2 Claims. (Cl. 93-1.1)

My invention relates to a sheet crimping device, and more particularly, to a hand device, for securing together sheets of paper and the like, that does not require staples or other fastening implements, and which may be carried about in ones pocket. f

Devices for securing together sheets of paper or the like normally contemplate the use of a clip or staple of some type that is necessarily left with the particular sheets secured. When the supply of clips or staples is exhausted, it must be replenished if the securing device is to have continued utility.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a device for securing sheets of paper and the like together that requires no replenishing to maintain its continued utility, and which effects sheet securement without requiring securing implements.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a device for securing together sheets of paper and the like which provides for the formation of interlocking ridges and recessesin the sheets.

Other objects are to provide a sheet crimping device that is proportioned to be of pocket tool size, and to provide a crimping device that is inexpensive of manufacture, convenient in use, and readily adapted for application to a wide variety of sheeting products.

Still other objects, uses and advantages will become obvious or be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the application drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE l is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational View of the device shown in FIGURE l, positioned to receive sheets of paper to be secured together;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 2, but showing sheets of paper in the process of being secured together in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmental sectional view substantially along line 4 4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 2, but showing the device in its inoperative position for carrying in ones pocket;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 3, but in section and on an enlarged scale, better illustrating the action of my device;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmental diagrammatic perspective view on an enlarged scale illustrating the crimped ridges and grooves that are formed in the sheets in accordance with this invention; and

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view substantially along the line 8-8 of FIGURE 2, illustrating the configuration of the crimping teeth of my device.

However, it should be understood that the drawing illustrations are provided primarily to conform to the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112, and that the invention may take other forms, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Reference numeral 10 generally indicates the device as a whole, which comprises a pair of resilient arms 12 fixed together at like ends 14 by appropriate securing device 16, such as rivet 17, and having formed at their other ends 18 a pair of jaws generally indicated at Ztl.

The jaws 20 are each defined by forming a concaveconvex indentation 22 in the ends of the respective arms 12 to dene a convex undersurface 24 in which is formed in any suitable manner a plurality of crimping teeth or ridges 26, with the teeth or ridges 26 of the respective jaws being complementarily proportioned for intermeshing or intercalating relation, as suggested by the showing of FIGURE 8. v

The intermeshing or intercalating function of teeth or ridges 26 is quite important, and it has been found that the respective teeth of each jaw should be spaced approximately 1/32 of an inch apart adjacent their projecting ends 28, and the projecting ends should have a rounded thickness on the order of 1/32 of an inch, with the depth of the teeth between their projecting ends 28 and the bottoms of recesses 30 being approximately 1&2 of an inch. Also, the teeth should be at least approximately an eighthof an inch in dimension lengthwise of arms 12. These approximate dimensional characteristics should be followed to achieve the best sheet crimpingaction, and the teeth of each jaw should be formed to substantially complement the shape of the teeth of the other jaw.

The arms 12 are perforated as at 32 and 33 to rotatably receive a headed post or pole 34, which has its head end 36 thereof disposed against the outer surface 3S of one of the arms thereof, with the other end 46 projecting through the other arm 12 and formed to receive pin 42 which pivots to the pole end 43 of operating lever 44.

The operating lever 44 is formed to define locating or centering surfaces 46 that are made complementary to the surface portion 48 of the adjacent arm 12, which incidentally includes a locating corner 50. The operating lever 44 also is formed to define cam surfaces 52 that are proportioned to engage the locating surface 48 in such a manner as to serve as a rolling fulcrum when the operating lever isl moved from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3 after several sheets of paper or the like have been inserted between the jaws in the manner suggested by FIGURE 3.

In the illustrated embodiment, the lever 44 is a channel shape member defining a web 6) and side flanges 62 in which the respective surfaces 46 and 52 are formed. In the area of post or pole 34, the web 60 is cut away as at 64 to define the lever 44 into bifurcated portion 66 that is adapted for securement to post or pole 34 by pin 42 in the manner indicated. Pin 42 may have its ends 67 peened over to secure same in place.

The device 10 may be carried about in ones pocket in the form shown in FIGURE-5 wherein the lever 44 is turned degrees about the axis of post or pole 34 and positioned with its surfaces 46 in contact with the surface 43 of the adjacent arm 12. The arms 12 are preferably formed of a resilient material such as spring steel and they and post 34 are preferably so proportioned in that the arms 12 are biased outwardly of each other at their jaw portions 22 so that a substantial camming force is applied to operating lever 44 to hold it in the position of FIGURE 5.

When it is [desired to use the device 10, the operating lever 44 is turned approximately 180 ldegrees of i-ts position of FIGURE 5, about the central axis of post or pole 34, and then disposed substantially as sho-wn in FIG- URE 2 with respect to the jaws 12. The sheets to be secured together, such as sheets 70 and 72 of FIGURE 3, are then inserted between the two jaws 20', and the handle portion 74 of lever 44 pressed toward the arms 12, `or vice versa, or both. The result is that the operating lever 40 rolls along the surface 48 -to lift post or pol-e 40 outwardly of the jaws 12in the manner of the first class lever and simultaneously compresses the jaws 20 and their teeth 26 together in intermeshing relation.

The result is that a plurality of intermeshing or intereine,

calated ridges Stb are formed inthe sheets 7d and '72, which on each side of the papers are separated by depressions 82,. Because of the coniiguration `of teeth 26, the respective ridges 8i) are on one side of the sheets and deiine recesses on the other side of such sheets, while the recesses 82 are reversely oriented.

lt will be found :that the alternating ridges Si), when formed by teeth 26 yhaving the characteristics indicated, rmly bind the sheets ot paper together and their interengaging action will resist ordinary paper shuffling movements to the extent required.

lt Will be noted that the jaws 2i) dene locating areas 36 to aid in lproperly lcentering the sheets under the javiI piece 26. Also, preferably arms l2 `are given identical contigurations for ease in manufacturing and assembling the device.

The 'foregoing description and the drawings are Igiven merely to explain and illustrate my invention and the invention is not to be limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since those skilled in the art who have .my disclosure before them will be able to make modications and variations therein withou departing from the scope of the invention. l

I claim:

1. A sheet crimping device comprising a pair of elongate resilient arms formed from sheet material and having ltheir rwide Sides secured together at like ends thereotn in side by side `relation and their other ends in opposed spaced apart relation, one of said arms being shaped to define `a rst rectilinear portion diverging away from said other arm tfrom said secured ends at an acute angle with respect thereto and having its end extending away from said secured ends, ya second rectilinear portion merging with said end of said iirst rectilinear portion and inclined toward said other end of the other arm, said rectilinear portions of said one arm `at :their point of merge-r detin-ing an external locating corner, said other end of said other anm and the other end of said one arm being formed to dene spaced opposed jaws formed with cornplementarily proportioned teeth that are disposed in substantial coplanar intere-elated relation when said jaws `are brought together, a post extending transversely of said arms adjacent said jaws, said post having one end thereof rotatably mounted in said other arm and the other end thereof extending through sm'd one jaw second rectilinear portion and projecting beyond same, and an elongate ever member having one end thereof pivoted to said other end of said post, said lever member having a generally channel shaped transverse cross-sectional coniiguration defining a `web and side Walls, said side Walls on one lside of said lever member being formed with edge surfaces substantially complementing the outwardly racing surta-ces of said rectilinear portions on either side of said corner, and said side Walls on `the other side of said lever lmember being formed with edge surfaces defining rolling fulcrurm means `adapted to en-1 gage said one arm second rectilinear portion for drawing said jaws together when said lever member is positioned to piace the last mentioned edge surfaces in engagement with said outwardly projecting surface of said one arm second rectilinear portion, said locating corner `and the -rst mentioned lever member edge surfaces serving to hold said lever member in substantially parallel relation to said yarms when said lever member is posiltioned to place said first mentioned edge surfaces in engagement with said one arm rectilinear portions.

2 The deviceset forth in 4cileirn 1 wherein said teeth have a spacing on the order of one thirty second of an inch, said 'teeth have a height on the order of one thirty second of an inch, and said teeth have a length that at least approximates one eighth of an inch.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,188,222 Hibbs Jan. 23, 1940 2,272,473 Noll es Feb. 10, 1942 2,275,111 Noll Mar. 3, 1942 2,664,624 Bassett Jan. 5, 1954 2,887,773 yKilien May 26, 1959 las. 

1. A SHEET CRIMPING DEVICE COMPRISING A PAIR OF ELONGATE RESILIENT ARMS FORMED FROM SHEET MATERIAL AND HAVING THEIR WIDE SIDES SECURED TOGETHER AT LIKE ENDS THEREOF IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATION AND THEIR OTHER ENDS IN OPPOSED SPACED APART RELATION, ONE OF SAID ARMS BEING SHAPED TO DEFINE A FIRST RECTILINEAR PORTION DIVERGING AWAY FROM SAID OTHER ARM FROM SAID SECURED ENDS AT AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH RESPECT THERETO AND HAVING ITS END EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID SECURED ENDS, A SECOND RECTILINEAR PORTION MERGING WITH SAID END OF SAID FIRST RECTILINEAR PORTION AND INCLINED TOWARD SAID OTHER END OF THE OTHER ARM SAID RECTILINEAR PORTIONS OF SAID ONE ARM AT THEIR POINT OF MERGER DEFINING AN EXTERNAL LOCATING CORNER, SAID OTHER END OF SAID OTHER ARM AND THE OTHER END OF SAID ONE ARM BEING FORMED TO DEFINE SPACED OPPOSED JAWS FORMED WITH COMPLEMENTARILY PROPORTIONED TEETH THAT ARE DISPOSED IN SUBSTANTIAL COPLANAR INTERCALATED RELATION WHEN SAID JAWS ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER, A POST EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID ARMS ADJACENT SAID JAWS, SAID POST HAVING ONE END THEREOF ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID OTHER ARM AND THE OTHER END THEREOF EXTENDING THROUGH SAID ONE JAW SECOND RECTILINEAR PORTION AND PROJECTING BEYOND SAME, AND AN ELONGATE LEVER MEMBER HAVING ONE END THEREOF PIVOTED TO SAID OTHER END OF SAID POST, SAID LEVER MEMBER HAVING A GENERALLY CHANNEL SHAPED TRANSVERSE CROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION DEFINING A WEB AND SIDE WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLS ON ONE SIDE OF SAID LEVER MEMBER BEING FORMED WITH EDGE SURFACES SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLEMENTING THE OUTWARDLY FACING SURFACES OF SAID RECTILINEAR PORTIONS ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID CORNER, AND SAID SIDE WALLS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID LEVER MEMBER BEING FORMED WITH EDGE SURFACES DEFINING ROLLING FULCRUM MEANS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID ONE ARM SECOND RECTILINEAR PORTION FOR DRAWING SAID JAWS TOGETHER WHEN SAID LEVER MEMBER IS POSITIONED TO PLACE THE LAST MENTIONED EDGE SURFACES IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID OUTWARDLY PROJECTING SURFACE OF SAID ONE ARM SECOND RECTILINEAR PORTION, SAID LOCATING CORNER AND THE FIRST MENTIONED LEVER MEMBER EDGE SURFACES SERVING TO HOLD SAID LEVER MEMBER IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RELATION TO SAID ARMS WHEN SAID LEVER MEMBER IS POSITIONED TO PLACE SAID FIRST MENTIONED EDGE SURFACES IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ONE ARM RECTILINEAR PORTIONS. 